On March 11, 2026, the Malom és Kacsa (Mill and Duck) Restaurant and Event House in Tata swings open its doors again to a season of intimate, high-caliber theatre. The cozy, lakeside spot blends gastronomy with performance, inviting audiences to settle in for powerful stories and bold voices just steps from the water. The address is 2890 Tata, Tópart u. 19, and this year’s lineup leans into courage, craft, and conversations that linger long after the curtain falls.
March 11: Apád előtt ne vetkőzz (Don’t Undress in Front of Your Father)
The season starts with Apád előtt ne vetkőzz, written by Éva Péterfy-Novák, adapted for the stage and directed by István Tasnádi, and performed by Bori Péterfy and Ferenc Pataki. Visual design is by Adrienn Antal-Fógel, poster by László Csáfordi, and the producer is Tibor Orlai. Recommended for ages 18 and over, this collaboration between the Óbuda Cultural Center (Óbudai Kulturális Központ), FÜGE, and the Orlai Production Office (Orlai Produkciós Iroda) cuts straight into generational trauma with stark clarity.
Parallel lives thread together: in the early 1920s, eight-year-old Károly and four-year-old Anna lose their parents to the Spanish flu and are sent to an orphanage. Half a century later, in the same family, five-year-old Eszter forges an unusually close bond with her grandfather, Tatus. She believes only he truly understands her, and she trusts him more than anyone—until that trust is betrayed. The piece asks whether warped family patterns that stretch across generations can be broken, and it refuses to blink while confronting taboos, much like the team’s celebrated production One Woman (Egyasszony). Expect tenderness and devastation, and a taut production that lives in the shadows where silence tends to swallow truth.
April 15: Széllel szembe (Against the Wind) — Tamás Jordán
On April 15, the stage turns breezy, wry, and quietly profound with Tamás Jordán’s stand-up Széllel szembe. It’s a mischievous hybrid: theatre anecdotes and life stories laced seamlessly with poetry. He drops verses into the flow of talk as if he’s still just chatting—no declamation, no pedestal, just conversation. The weave is rich and quintessentially Hungarian, with jokes and tall tales shoulder to shoulder with Karinthy, Kosztolányi, Radnóti, Attila József, Ady, and Babits. The show fuses punchlines and poetry into one current, where a compact flash of wisdom can gleam out of an apparently rambling story. The tonal range is enormous—light as air one minute, devastating the next—and the result earned a Special Prize at the 2013 Vidor Festival for exemplary innovation in form. It’s comedic, it’s literary, and it resonates well beyond the laugh.
May 13: Cukorbaba (Sugar Baby) — A Bold, Multi-Disciplinary Unveiling
May brings Cukorbaba, an all-arts disclosure set ablaze by the life and legend of Lujza Blaha. It presses at the borders of theatre, music, literature, and puppetry, and every moment plays double duty as confession and performance. The questions it raises are sharp and current: the demands of an actress’s vocation, the possession and policing of the female body, the porous line between stage and private life, and the expectations that shadow the so-called price of love. It pits the words of great actresses against the blunt, buzzing realities of today’s YouTubers and celebrity culture. What is stardom? What is affectation? How do values morph in the limelight? What does it mean to be an actress, to be a woman, to step out in front of an audience and own yourself? The show refuses to flinch, and that makes it thrilling.
Stay and Savor by the Water
Right on the shore of Tata’s Old Lake (Öreg-tó), the Malom és Kacsa Boutique Hotel **** Superior mixes the charm of the past with contemporary indulgence in a singular lakeside setting. The themed rooms are crafted to soothe and spark—perfect for a romantic escape or an active break. If you’re chasing premium experiences, historical atmosphere, and genuine relaxation, this is your place. The complex also houses the Malom és Kacsa Restaurant in three lovingly restored, heritage-protected mills. Settle in for lunch or dinner, come for a rendezvous, or make an evening of it while the sun slides down across the water. The scene is ideal for life’s big milestones and company gatherings alike, with the lakeside panorama working its quiet magic from first bite to final applause.
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